1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to stabilization devices for use with watercraft and more specifically to a stabilizing pontoon assembly which is designed to be easily installed within conventional small craft including canoes, Jon boats, rowboats, dinghies and the like in order to provide stabilization to the especially when such watercraft are stationary or moving at slow speed in the water.
2. History of the Related Art
Watercraft such as canoes, rowboats, Jon boats and the like are often utilized by sports fisherman because they are lightweight and easy to transport and may be compactly stored when not in use. Further, such small watercraft are more economical to purchase than other types of fishing craft and they are also very maneuverable in the water and may be utilized because of their minimum draft requirements to access areas where some boats can not be used. Further, because of their design, relatively small motors may be easily mounted to such watercraft to provide power for trolling and to otherwise facilitate maneuvering in the water. Unfortunately, because of their size and hull design, such smaller watercraft, and especially canoes, are extremely unstable in the water and can easily be tipped by people moving within the boat. The stability of canoes and other small watercraft is an important consideration for fishermen who are constantly casting and moving while fishing.
It has long been known that canoes and other boats may be stabilized using outriggers or pontoon structures mounted to arms which extend from the sides of the boat. In basic stabilizing systems, the outrigger arms are fixedly secured to the sidewall of a canoe or other boat such that the pontoons or floats associated with the outrigger arms are retained at a fixed vertical height relative to the sidewalls of the boats. This results in the creation of a drag force during the movement of the boats through the water and also reduces the maneuverability of the boats in the water.
An early improvement over the fixed structure of outriggers for use with small boats is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 655,234 to Howe et al. This patent discloses a pair of outrigger assemblies which may be mounted to the upper sidewalls of a small boat, such as a canoe, and which include special clamps which enable floats carried by the outriggers to be vertically adjusted by manipulating the clamps. In some instances, the floats may be raised slightly above the water so as to not interfere with the normal movement of the boat within the water, however, in other circumstances the clamps may be manually adjusted and the floats lowered so as to contact the water and provide stabilization for the boat.
Unfortunately, structures such as that disclosed in the patent to Howe et al. are not practical and do not allow convenient adjustment to the float or pontoons associated with the outriggers without undue physical movement being necessary to effect deployment or adjustment of the outriggers or the pontoons associated therewith.
Further, although vertical adjustment of the floats or pontoons associated with stabilization outriggers for small boats provides for a measure of stabilization, such adjustment does not adequately address the need for some degree of stabilization when a boat is moving through the water. Therefore, it would be preferred to provide a structure which enables selective surface contact to be made by changing the angle or pitch of a float or pontoon relative to the surface of the water depending upon the amount of maneuverability and stability required.
Some additional examples of pontoon assemblies for watercraft are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,100,044 to Alexovic, 3,002,484 to Dube, 3,064,307 to Lafleur, 3,150,632 to Evans, 3929,085 to Mason, 4,964,357 to Genfan and 5,235,925 to Farrier. In addition, other pontoon structures are disclosed in Japanese Patent 62-244790 of October 1987 and French Patent 1,555,762 of Jan. 31, 1969.